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Thursday, 18 May 2017

Theresa May promises 'good solid conservatism' in Tory manifesto

Theresa May has promised a "mainstream government that would deliver for mainstream Britain" as she pledged money for schools, cuts to pensioner benefits and an overhaul of the social care system.

In a clean break from the David Cameron years, Mrs May abandoned his promise not to raise income tax or national insurance; ask elderly people with over £100,000 in assets to pay for social care and end the triple lock protecting pensioner's incomes by 2020.

She also delayed his deficit reduction plans - saying the Tories would balance the books by the middle of the next decade - some 10 years after the pledge was initially made.

Launching her manifesto in the North West Labour seat of Halifax, Mrs May said she wanted to build "a great meritocracy" and pledged to tackle the "five great challenges" facing Britain.

Manifesto measures include:

Balancing the budget by 2025

Increasing the national living wage to 60% of the median earnings by 2020

Restating the commitment to bring net immigration down to tens of thousands a year

Increasing NHS spending each year to £8bn a year extra by 2022

Increasing the amount levied on firms employing migrant workers

A pledge that a referendum on Scottish independence cannot take place until the Brexit process is completed

Scrapping winter fuel payments to better-off pensioners - at the moment, all pensioners qualify for one-off payments of between £100 and £300 each winter

A reduction of the so-called "triple lock" on pensions to a "double lock" with the state pension to rise by the higher of average earnings or inflation - but to no longer go up by 2.5% if they are both lower than that

An extra £4bn on schools in England by 2022 - partly funded by an end to the current provision of free school lunches for all infant pupils in England

Scrapping the ban on setting up new grammar schools

Universities charging maximum tuition fees will have to sponsor academies or help found free schools

A free vote in the Commons to be held on repealing the ban on fox hunting